Bonds to be Reforged
by sonicdisney
Summary: He used to trust these people more than anyone else. They were family; how could everyone have forgotten that so soon?


**A/N: There aren't nearly enough fics about Ansem and the apprentices, the least I can do is try and remedy that. **

**SPOILERS FOR: Birth by Sleep and the entire premise is one for Dream Drop Distance.**

* * *

Ansem gazes out over what used to be, so many years ago, the place he called home. This magnificent garden that has seen the rise and fall of so many, the _destruction _of so many. Part of him was lost in the Darkness, and regaining it has been the most difficult thing he has ever done.

Even now, he is not comfortable with them the way he once was. He cannot _truly_ trust them, not yet. There is even, in a part of his heart he has tried hard to bury, a sliver of him that _never _wants to trust them again. A part of him that never wants to ever have to put such faith in a group of decaying people who have never understood that there is a difference between _intelligence _and _wisdom_.

He can clearly remember all of them, each once trying to prove themselves against whatever force stood in their way. Yes, there _was _a time before, wasn't there?

He knows there was.

XxXxXxXxXx

Braig was the first, becoming an apprentice alongside Even, a friend he had known all of his life.

The two were always just one misinterpreted comment away from a fight, and Ansem had found them squabbling like children on more than once occasion.

"_C'mon, man, it's not like it'll hurt anything…"_

"_The master said that—"_

"_So what? He'll never know." Braig paused, eyeing Even cautiously. "Unless you're plannin' on telling him, that is."_

"_Why would I want to do that?"_

"_Just to make another of my plans blow up in my face," Braig said, adding in a thoughtful murmur, "You're real good at that, actually."_

"_I've never, not even _once_, messed up any of your immature plans!" Even protested._

"_If my plans are so immature, then why d'you go along with them?!"_

It was almost unbelievable how eager they were just to irritate each other, and yet how quickly they came together if the situation called for action.

"_How did it get in the castle?!"_

"_I don't know! One minute, me 'n Aeleus are out in front of the gates, and the next—"_

"_It's not important," Even cut him off. "_Where is it_?"_

"_I told you: Out in front of the gates!"_

_They were off and running before Ansem even knew about an attack from the Unversed._

Their friendship was an odd one, to say the least, yet still remained durable even after Dilan and Aeleus arrived. Despite all evidence of the two growing apart, they still held fast to the bond when it was called for.

"_Master Ansem's gonna be _ticked_…"_

_Even glanced up in faint surprise. "Braig? Did you just use an honorific _genuinely_? Are you ill?"_

_Braig perked up considerably after spotting Even, a wide grin spreading across his face as if on command. "Hey! Think you could give me a hand? I've gotta hide some…well, bodies, I guess you'd call 'em."_

_Thankfully, the 'bodies' were only the crushed remains of a still-underway experiment regarding sentient plants. How exactly Braig managed to shred, crush, and burn through the center of one of the more valuable specimens during the course of one trial was never explained._

XxXxXxXxXx

Dilan, a bit younger than both Braig and Even, became an apprentice nearly three years after the original two, but showed no less potential than his 'superiors'.

"_Are you sure about this, Braig?" Dilan asked, watching as the other man offered another table scrap to the dog. "At this rate, it may follow us back."_

"_Aw, lighten up. Snowball'd never get me in trouble with Ansem," Braig waved him off, jerking his hand back as the dog tried to find more food on him. "_Hey_—that's a _bad_ boy, we don't try to bite Uncle Braig."_

_Dilan looked mildly disturbed. "Why in the world would you name that creature 'Snowball'?"_

"_He's _obviously _a leader, born and bred. Why else would I name him that?"_

_Dilan just let it be, deciding it wasn't worth the headache._

Ansem knew he was more than capable of matching up to his colleagues; it wasn't even a question.

"_This is just…bizarre, even for Even."_

"_What is he trying to accomplish?"_

_Braig tilted his head to the side a little, trying to get better look at what Even was attaching to the side of his window. "…The heck 're those?"_

"_Maybe we should help him; he might—" Dilan broke off, not entirely sure _how _to respond now. "Why does he have a bird?"_

"_I think that's the one Ansem has in the lab."_

"_But, why would he—" Dilan started._

"_Sometimes you're better off not knowing."_

"_Who are you and what have you done with Braig?"_

XxXxXxXxXx

Aeleus, now, was a rather imposing individual at first glance, and as a result, Even had taken his time learning to respect the newcomer—not that he ever acted any different to the Dilan, really.

While Aeleus seemed to prioritize brawn over brain, he was quickly revealed to be very thoughtful, arguing only if he had a point worth proving, not just for the sake of fighting. It was a rather refreshing relief, as all of the other apprentices were hot-tempered to some variety or another, to have someone truly levelheaded.

That is, he was most of the time.

"_No."_

"_Really! I promise you."_

"_Braig—"_

"Aeleus_."_

"_You expect me to believe that Even _completely destroyed _my research in a 'snowball accident'?" Aeleus asked skeptically._

_There was only the faintest hesitance in Braig's answer. "Yep. One minute he's walking along, goin' about his business, the next he's getting pelted with flying snow from each side. Turns out paper doesn't do so well with water, especially once it melts."_

"_And, to prove this, you attacked Even."_

"…_I'm a hands on learner."_

_Braig didn't miss the light smirk Aeleus gave him as he said, "Then why don't we try some practical application?"_

It took _ages _for the bruise on Braig's face to heal, and 'practical application' was nearly always accompanied by three pairs of eyes glancing to Braig and a comment or two, which were then replied to with threats. Sometime later, with the addition of a fifth researcher, it usually warranted a confused look at why everyone else seemed to find that phrase so amusing, and why it seemed to get under Braig's skin the way it did.

With said addition, groups were shifted again, throwing them into a bit of disarray until they adjusted once more, though it was mid-winter by the time it had all been sorted out.

_It was freezing in the castle, as if someone had turned down a thermostat twenty-degrees or so overnight. The only ones up by the time Aeleus awoke were Braig, who was muttering in irritation at the fireplace, and Ienzo, who was staring out the window at something unseen._

_Aeleus shivered, going over to Braig to join in his noble quest to provide warmth. He laid a hand on the other man's shoulder, causing Braig to jump and hit his head against the top of the fireplace. Ienzo glanced over at the noise, raising an eyebrow at Aeleus. The man just shook his head in reply, listening to Braig mutter darkly under his breath._

_Ienzo merely shrugged, glancing at the –unfortunately still lacking in an actual fire –fireplace for a second before turning back to the window._

"_You might watch your head next time," Aeleus advised, chuckling a bit at the look Braig responded with._

"_You scared out of my _skin_," he defended. "The heck d'you expect me to do?"_

"_Respond with actual maturity?" Ienzo suggested absently._

"_Shut up, you."_

Aeleus had responded fairly well towards the sixth apprentice as well, particularly since the rest of the reactions were very…distrustful.

XxXxXxXxXx

Ienzo originally came into his care with a disposition that reminded Ansem of a blank canvas, so _empty _and pale, desperately searching for something resembling color. And yet, as much as Ansem tried to paint, he found that the surface was too rocky, that the edges were to sharp and too sudden, that the child had _already _been painted upon.

What remained of the color was faint, almost invisible, but it was remarkably clear that there was nothing to be done in regards to starting over. It simply wasn't _possible_. Ansem was forced to begrudgingly accept that the story that caretaker had told him simply wasn't true, that it had all been fabricated in the hopes that he would act appropriately.

And then he started _talking_.

Once Ienzo was actually willing to speak to him—or anyone at all, really – it was obvious just _how _advanced the boy truly was. His comprehension was fascinating, and Ansem had proceeded to launch question after question until the boy retreated back into his shell, silent once more.

This time, however, he simply went about showing Ienzo what exactly he had entered into. In those several weeks of one-sided conversation and instruction, Ansem had received many odd looks from his apprentices, though they never questioned who this boy was or why Ansem had taken such a liking to him.

It wasn't until he informed the young men of what was to occur that he finally met opposition.

"_But master," Even protested. "You can't possibly be serious! He's a _child_; what business could he possibly have here?"_

"_I assure you that Ienzo is fully capable of—"_

"_Has he even begun his schooling yet?" Even demanded. "The boy hardly looks old enough to have received any form of basic education, let alone work among _scientists_!"_

"_Even—"_

"_I think I'm with Even on this one, Prof," Braig spoke up from the couch, having been watching the conversation with a disinterested expression up until that point. "Kid doesn't belong among a bunch '_highly qualified_' adults who've been doin' this longer than he's even been _alive_."_

"_I'm sure the others will agree," Even went on. "Why would we even _want _to bother with bringing him up to speed on our projects? He's only going to slow us down."_

"_Then you'll be happy to know I've already taken care of that."_

_The stares that his two eldest apprentices gave him were priceless._

"_You—You're serious," Even mumbled. "You're honestly, truly _serious _about taking him on as an apprentice."_

"_This is gonna go all kinds of bad places," Braig warned. "No way it'll end well."_

"_I've taken care of it," Ansem assured them._

"_Then how come I don't believe you?"_

While it had been a terribly long argument to even get some form of consent from Even and Braig, let alone Aeleus and Dilan—though, honestly, he didn't need to get it in the first place – it was even worse when Ienzo actually became an apprentice.

"_Master, with all due respect, are you…certain that this is a wise decision?" Even Aeleus sounded skeptical, and he had hardly even debated the subject the previous week._

"_Does the kid even talk?" Braig wondered, watching Ienzo._

"I _certainly haven't heard him," Even muttered._

"_I still don't understand what a child has to contribute," Dilan added._

_Ienzo fidgeted a bit, edging closer to Ansem in a search for some sort of defense._

_Rather unfortunately, even this slight movement didn't go unnoticed by Even. _

"_You see! He's just a frightened child! Isn't taking the boy in enough for your _ever so caring _heart to offer?" There was more than just a trace of sarcasm in Even's words, his accusation practically _dripping _with it._

_As Ansem was about to respond, Ienzo simply spoke up in a quiet voice, "Ansem tells me that you all have been researching the heart. Perhaps you could enlighten me on some of the specifics?"_

Even had immediately claimed that it had been staged in a flat out _idiotic _attempt at gaining the approval of the young men. Braig seemed to agree. It wasn't for several more weeks that they all seemed to see the boy as their equal, and it was even _longer _before Ienzo would act around them the way he would around Ansem.

"_All right, kiddo; you see this snowball?" Braig held one up in a gloved hand, keeping it eyelevel with Ienzo. "Ten munny says you can't hit ol' Even from here."_

_Ienzo eyed the snowball skeptically, but eventually grabbed it from the man and took aim._

_He hadn't managed to hit Even, and was ten munny shorter that he had been earlier, but _Dilan _certainly wasn't pleased. _

"_This, my little friend, is what we call a hit-and-_run_."_

_That night, after realizing that he must have dropped his scarf while fleeing from Dilan, Ienzo ventured out into the yard. He had not, for a wonder, thought to dress appropriately, and was only reminded of this fact by Even calling after him in angry concern._

"_Get in here, boy; you'll catch your death out there!"_

_Ienzo paid the man little attention, digging through the snow after seeing something gleam faintly in the moonlight. Even had eventually stalked out after the boy, all but dragging him back inside the castle after Ienzo dug up the wristwatch Dilan had lost the previous day._

It had been a long, hard road to even get to that point, but there was another that was far too close in the future.

_Ienzo had been with them for little more than two years, but he approached Ansem without even the slightest hesitance._

"_Master, we were thinking that it might be beneficial to have another lab," Ienzo spoke. "Only in the interest of research, of course."_

_Ansem looked at his youngest apprentice closely. There was something _off _about the way he carried himself these days, about the way he spoke down to the others at even the slightest provocation, about the gleam in his eyes._

"_Only in the interest of research," Ansem repeated, raising an eyebrow in question._

"_Naturally. We simply believe that it might be in our best interest to move our operations to a less widely known area. A secret lab, if you will."_

_He hadn't known what to say. He _supposed _Ienzo was right; the majority of their findings were inconclusive, after all. In the end, Ansem had approved it, quite convinced that he had made the right decision after all._

XxXxXxXxXx

Xehanort, his name was. Of all of the apprentices, that man truly rang out the most clearly in Ansem's mind. When Braig had first brought him in, an amnesiac in need of care, he had _seemed _normal. And yet, it became alarmingly apparent that—

_1.6._

"_He's gone," a voice whispered breathlessly. "Where—What did we do to him?"_

"_Is it not obvious?" Xehanort answered in a cool tone. "We have banished him to the Realm of Darkness. I would hope that someone of your supposed capabilities would be more than able to understand such a thing. Perhaps I was wrong."_

"_That's ridiculous," the voice argued back immediately. "Where could you possible get that idea from?"_

"_Oh, you see—_

_1.6._

In spite of everything, in spite of the Darkness and its terrible effects, these people were once his family. And if he does want to erase it all, even for a moment, it is far too late.

He steps out, gazing about the room as a startled voice—one he remembers well –comes from behind him.

"_Master?_"

* * *

**A/N: For the record, the random cut-offs for the third-and-second to last scenes were on purpose. I apologize for excessive Ienzo. -.- My bad on that. Oh, and the entirety of the present-time events in this story take place just before my ideal ending to KH III. I hope it made enough sense, but please ask if something doesn't.**

**Ack, FFN eats some of the formatting and makes it more awkward looking. *headdesk* **


End file.
